


Shadows

by TinySidney



Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Anxiety, Darkness, F/M, Fluff, Hallucinations, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-05-05 01:46:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14606466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinySidney/pseuds/TinySidney
Summary: OKAY HI. This is the second fic I ever wrote and I’m so anxious about it. It’s about a character I created called Evelyn, and her struggle with her powers and insomnia. Also, Loki feels bad for her and tries to help. Loki is soft. Also, this is set after Ragnarok, but Infinity War didn’t happen because I’m in denial.I wrote this at 2am so it’s probably not great, but I’m still kind of proud. I’d love to hear feedback of any kind! Enjoy~





	1. Shadows

As soon as she heard the sound of the alarm going off, she almost threw it across the room. It had been another one of the bad nights. The really awful nights. Staring up at her ceiling trancelike for hours in the darkness, seeing the shapes of shadow like creatures manifest in the corners of her eyes. It wasn’t terribly difficult to ignore them as long as they stayed quiet. But they didn’t. They had screamed, wailed, moaned all through the night. Like they had countless of times throughout her life. Sometimes she would get a good nights sleep, where the manifestations just stared at her from the corners of her room. She couldn’t remember when that had happened for the last time though.

Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes, big bags underneath them from constant sleep deprivation. She’d just take a nap during the day, she thought. Looking into her room, sunlight now pouring through the small gaps between the blinders, she saw a tall black shadow in the corner of the room, limbs contorting into painful positions. She stared at it for a while with an annoyed expression on her face, eventually just sighing and flicking her wrist, sending the shadow flying through the wall, disappearing. She was in no mood to deal with him today.

Getting up she walked towards the closet, looking at the clothes with a blank expression. She wasn’t a fashionista at all. Most of these clothes she’d had for years. Pulling out a grey hoodie and jeans, she started dressing herself. She quickly brushed her grey shoulder length hair and washed her face, looking at the bags underneath her eyes. She had tried to cover them up, excessively trying makeup products she had seen on television that swore they worked, but to no avail. The only thing that would truly help would be sleep. Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw the black, blurry figure standing behind her in the mirror. Rolling her eyes she turned around, walking straight through it, the figure evaporating into a dark mist.

She put on her shoes, thinking back to the last family she saw. She had been abandoned by her biological parents, conveniently being left at a graveyard. She had been in and out of foster homes all throughout her childhood, no family being brave enough to put up with the weird happenings in their homes the second she walked into it. She had seen and heard the shadows for as long as she could remember, remnants of spirits haunting her mind. It was especially bad at night. Though she learned to manipulate the shadows around her when she dabbled in dark magic as a teen, it was an impossible task to get rid of them when the sun set behind the horizon. One minute, they’d evaporate, the second they’d be back, taunting her, screaming at her, not feeling the peace they should have felt after passing. Her entire childhood was filled with actual monsters in the closet and under the bed. She made peace with them during the day, and they went to war with her during the night.

Opening the door she walked into the elevator. She had been at the new Avengers’ mansion like base for a few weeks now, having been employed by Tony to help out on missions that required extra firepower. She grew accustomed to the place pretty quickly, having gotten her own room and learning the inside and outside of the facility. Her hands stowed away in the pockets of her hoodie, she walked out of the elevator when it reached ground floor, walking into the common room. There weren’t many people present, which she did not mind at all. Nodding to some of the people sitting on the couch, she went over to the fridge to grab milk for some cereal. Fixing herself a bowl, she sat down at the counter, eating slowly while being lost in thought again. Although this time, the reason for her to be startled wasn’t a shadow, or anything even remotely scary in the first place; as a matter of fact it was a familiar face she had grown very fond of. As the God of Mischief walked up to her, wearing a casual outfit he had gotten from Thor to blend in more, she managed to manufacture a small smile.

“Good morning Loki”, she muttered, looking up to greet the tall God.  
“Good morning Lady Evelyn”, he smiled politely. He had to stay at the facility under Thor’s command, not fully trusting him yet after all of his… antics. It was decided that he needed supervision, and that that supervision would be best if it was with Earth’s mightiest. He had not caused trouble, yet no one seemed to trust him, most people even disliking him so much they refused to work with him. A bit much, if you ask him, he only tried taking over the earth once. Evelyn was different though. She was an outcast, much like himself. She had her demons, much like himself as well. However, her demons took on much more of a physical shape. She was the only one that could see them, which made it hard for people to really connect with her, given the fact that her suddenly looking behind people with a look of both agitation and nervousness on her face tends to make people feel a bit.. Uncomfortable. He liked talking to her for this reason. She knew what it was like to have people feel nervous around her, always being on edge, never being fully trusted. He’d never admit it ofcourse, but it was nice to have someone to let his guard down around.

“You don’t have to be so polite every time we talk, I’m your friend”, she said with a soft smile tugging at her lips.  
“Force of habit”, Loki chuckled. “Are you feeling well? You look like you have not slept at all”  
Evelyn looked up at his concerned expression from her cereal, raising an eyebrow. “Wow, don’t sugar coat it by any means. But yes, I am tired, and no, I haven’t slept. They wouldn’t shut up.”  
Loki looked at her, nervously smiling. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to be rude."  
"It's fine" she mumbled, putting the empty bowl in the sink and walking over to one of the couches, turning on the television but not really watching it, anxiously fidgeting with her hands, unconsciously picking at a small wound on her finger until it bled. Trying to hear the television was hard when there was a figure whispering cruel things in your ear. Loki watched her from the kitchen, a sorrowful look crossing his face. “Are you seeing them right now?” he asked. She nodded absently. “May I try something?” he inquired, walking over to sit next to Evelyn. She looked at him suspiciously, not sure what to expect, but at the same time wondering if there was anything he could do to help her, even if it was only temporarily. She cautiously nodded. Loki slowly raised his hand, putting it to her temple, it suddenly becoming engulfed with a faint green and gold light. She leaned into his touch, her surroundings finally becoming quiet. After a few moments, he pulled back his hand, looking at her relaxed expression. “What did you just do?” she asked, scanning the room to find the figure that had screamed into her ear less than 3 minutes ago. It was quiet, aside from the sound of the TV.

“You’re not the only one with demons haunting your mind” he said reassuringly. “My mother taught me.”  
She felt your eyelids slowly falling shut, a more than welcome feeling. She was so extremely tired, she did not care what else happened at that point. Muttering a soft thank you, she leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder, her mind barely registering the butterflies she felt in her stomach when she breathed in his scent. It was not the first time she felt them, and it would definitely not be the last time. If only she knew that at that exact moment, he experienced a similar feeling. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her more into him, planting a small kiss on top of her head. Smiling to himself, for the first time he was glad that he was stuck at that damned mansion, with her sleeping in his arms.


	2. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki helping Evelyn finally get some sleep backfired in the worst way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall asked for a sequel, and here I am to deliver! Again, not extremely confident in my writing, and this is pretty angsty, but voila!
> 
> Hope you enjoy, please leave feedback

Evelyn sighed happily, taking in her surroundings. The birds were whistling a chorus of love for anyone willing enough to hear it, the wind softly rustling the leaves on the trees, standing tall in a seemingly endless meadow. The dabbling of a creek could be heard in the background, filled with fishes of every color. The air was filled with a scent like the sweetest honey, mixed with the scent of the grass and trees surrounding her. 

She had been sat underneath the tree for hours, listening to the peacefulness of nature, feeling at ease for the first time in… She couldn’t remember, but it was a long, long time ago. Breathing in deeply, she looked at a butterfly, flying from flower to flower. Such a small creature, yet so committed, she thought.  
She had no idea where she was. She had certainly never been here before. Yet she hoped she could stay here forever. 

Suddenly she grew uneasy. It was an anxious feeling, a feeling of something terrible coming her way, of something dark. She looked around her, suddenly becoming all too aware of her own subconscious emotions. In the distance she noticed a small, dark blurry figure. Squinting her eyes to get a better look, she saw the figure rapidly approaching, seemingly taking down everything in its path, growing bigger by the second. Quickly getting up, she began to ran away from the figure, the feeling of impending danger growing to a terrifying extent.

Looking behind her she noticed the figure coming closer, the butterfly she observed earlier being sucked in the all-consuming darkness attached to the figure. A deathly fear taking hold of her, she struggled to breathe, feeling the air being sucked out of her lungs. Eyes widening, she tried screaming, finding it impossible to make even the slightest sound.  
-  
Loki walked through the corridor leading up to Evelyn’s room. It had been a few hours since he had helped her fall asleep, laying her on her bed not long after she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He smiled to himself, remembering how soft her hair felt when he had stroked it before leaving her room. He had come to realize he felt something different around her a few weeks before, having finally found someone who was understanding of the hardships he endured in his life. 

Walking up to her door, he knocked on it softly, not wanting to wake her up too rudely. It was nearing dusk, and he had wanted to see if she wanted anything to eat. His knocks went unanswered.  
‘’Evelyn, is everything alright?’’ He asked through the door, suddenly feeling like something wasn’t quite right. His question was met by an object loudly hitting the door, the force of it startling him. He heard furniture moving around in her room, seemingly being thrown around angrily. He quickly opened the door, worried for Evelyn’s safety, only to be met with a horrifying sight. 

Her room was a mess, mirrors shattered, objects both flying around the room and scattered all over the floor, furniture broken in each corner. Amongst the floating objects was Evelyn, seemingly being held up in mid air, fast asleep but with a look of discomfort visible among her features. Taking large strides he walked across the room, avoiding a piece of glass being thrown around. 

‘’EVELYN, WAKE UP’’, he yelled, shaking Evelyn, who only groaned in response. He took her in his arms, pulling her close to his chest, shielding her from the hurricane of materials flying everywhere. He quickly walked out of the room, the door closing behind him with a loud bang, making Evelyn open her eyes widely, letting out a terrified scream.  
‘’NO, LEAVE ME ALONE, GO AWAY!’’, she yelled, trying to get out of the tight grip Loki had on her. ‘’STOP IT, go away, leave me.. ‘’  
‘’It’s alright, it’s me, I’m here, please calm down’’ Loki said softly, trying to comfort her as best as he could, his grip on her loosening a little.  
‘’But it’s going to take me’’ she said, finally becoming aware of her surroundings, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up at Loki, confused as to what just happened, trying to process where she was. Her knees becoming weak, she clung onto Loki’s shirt, crying tears of pure fear and sorrow. He only held her, thinking about what he just witnessed himself. He stroked her hair, pulling her into a hug, whispering reassuring words to calm her down.  
-  
‘’They were angry’’, Evelyn spoke softly, her hands still shaking from the nightmare she just endured. Taking a small sip of her coffee, she looked down at the counter, still visibly shaken up.  
“Did they tell you why?” Loki asked, though already knowing the answer to that question.  
‘’Because you shut them up” she muttered. She thought she had finally found something that could help her sleep, Loki’s magic seemingly being powerful enough to make the shadows go away. Yet they just came back again, angrier than ever. She flinched at the sound of a man screaming loud obscenities in her ear, asking her where she got the nerve to send them away. It had never been this bad during the day before. 

Loki had a sorrowful look crossing his face, worried that his actions might have pushed her away from him, his intentions being nothing but good for her. ‘’Is there anything I can do?’’ he asked, wanting to make it up to her, if she even still wanted his help.  
‘’No, I just.. It’s fine, really, I’m fine. I just need to lay down for a while..’’ Evelyn said, slowly standing up to walk towards the elevator to her floor, before suddenly being held back by Loki grabbing her arm.  
‘’Actually, your room is, how do I put this… Inhospitable.’’ Loki said calmly, fearing her reaction. ‘’Your, ehm.. shadows, you see, they kind of.. Wrecked it’’  
Looking up at Loki with a puzzled look, she felt the lump in her throat getting worse. ‘’What do you mean by wrecked? They make a mess sometimes, but it can’t be that bad, right?’’  
“There’s glass everywhere, and just about every piece of furniture in there has been destroyed, to say the least. I don’t think it’d be safe for you to go in there, especially alone, after what you just experienced.” He answered, looking at Evelyn’s face, studying her expression. Even in a dire situation like this, she truly was stunning to him. Her eyes puffed up and swollen from crying, her soft, silvery hair a mess, looking more tired than before she slept. Releasing her arm, he felt for her. He never intended for this to happen.

She looked down at the ground, looking like she wasn’t even fully aware of the situation anymore, lost in her own never ending trail of thoughts. “I see.. I’ll just sleep on the couch then, I suppose.. Could you bring me a blanket?” she muttered almost inaudibly, shuffling towards the couch, hands stowed away in her pockets.  
“You can sleep in my room, I do not require very much sleep anyway. It’s the least I can offer” Loki said, gently guiding her towards the elevator.  
“Loki, please, it’s no big deal, I don’t want to intrude” Evelyn tried to reason, but Loki insisted. They stepped in the elevator, her eyelids feeling heavier by the second, her exhaustion finally triumphing her fear. Loki stood beside her, looking down at her with a protective look, wishing that he could shield her from all the voices and apparitions. 

Arriving at the door of his quarters, Loki flicked his wrist, unlocking the it. Evelyn stepped inside, feeling slightly in awe of the luxurious room before her. It seemed like every piece of furniture in the room was crafted just for Loki, everything looking impeccable. In the middle of the room stood a large, dark wooden bed, silky green sheets draped across it. A bed had never looked more inviting to her. However Loki paid no attention to the area, his hand softly touching the small of her back, guiding her inside the room.  
“Rest up darling, I promise your sleep will not be interrupted this time” he reassured her, turning around to walk out of the room.  
“Please stay” Evelyn asked softly, feeling anxious at the thought of being left to fend the shadows for herself once again. Loki turned around, looking at her intently, a smile making its way across his face.  
“Very well” he answered, waiting for Evelyn to get in the bed, sitting down on a love seat near the bed. He grabbed a book to read while she slept, but all he could focus on was her peaceful form, in his bed, the stress and fear of the day finally slipping off of her.


	3. Poltergeists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finally being able to rest up for the first time in months, Loki confronts Evelyn with some bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, third chapter, still extremely insecure. I promise this will get lighter, I promise, I really do, but right now this is just the angst I feel is right for this fic. Most of this fic is focused on Loki discovering more about Evelyn's problems, but it gets better in the next few chapters okay. Please leave feedback, of any type really! Anything is appreciated! If you like this chapter, please leave kudos :)

Loki looked up from his book to see Evelyn stirring in her sleep, and though she didn’t look in distress, he still kept an eye on her to see if anything happened. After a few minutes she settled in again, hugging the sheets while her breathing calmed down to a steady, slow pace. All night he had watched her, making sure her mind wasn’t tormented by the visions that haunted her. Making sure she was sleeping comfortably in his bed, after months of increasingly worse nightmares. Though that was not the sole reason he watched her.  
It was the way her silver gray hair splayed out on the pillow beneath her pale skin.  
It was the way her skin looked, soft and void almost any colour other than the soft pink tones of her cheeks, making her seem almost translucent, yet bursting with life at the same time. It was like watching spring trying to break through winter.  
The moon shining down on her face through the open curtains, making her seem like the polar opposite of shadows that plagued her, to him she was the epitome of beauty.  
He could hear the distant sounds of birds chirping, the first sign of the approaching sunrise. Standing up he walked to the door, turning to look at Evelyn’s sleeping form, before walking into the dark hallway. Stepping into the elevator he felt like he wasn’t completely alone, but he didn’t think much of it. 

Opening the door to Evelyn’s room, he sighed at the state of it. The night before, the shadows had completely wrecked the room out of rage for being oppressed by his magic. Taking a few steps inside he picked up a few broken objects, using his magic to fix them. After doing this to a few items he noticed a small black notebook lying underneath some rubble. He picked it up, looking at it curiously, not sure whether or not he should look inside. However his curiosity overtook his restraint and he opened it to a random page.  
He wasn’t even sure what to make of it, trying to decipher the words scratched all over the pages. It was like she started writing down her feelings, only to have the sentences disrupted halfway through the page, turning into a weird scribbly mess.  
‘’I didn’t sleep again last night. I’ve been up for 28 hours now, they won’t let me sleep. They’re getting worse and worse. I don’t know what to do anymore. I want to visit the graveyard again but they won’t let me. I’m getting desperate. There has got to be a way to fight back. The bad ones are starting to overtake the good ones and I have constant headaches. If only I could-‘’

Everything after that was unintelligible, like halfway through the sentence she suddenly got in a rush to keep writing. The only word he could make out was hurt. Suddenly feeling like the dark energy was around again, he closed the notebook, suddenly feeling very alert. It was like something else was there with him. He looked around trying to figure out where the feeling was coming from, before being startled by the notebook flying out of his hand, like an invisible force yanked it out of it.  
He walked out of the room quickly, closing the door behind him. Immediately it felt like the energy was gone, like nothing had ever happened, when a loud thud was heard coming from the inside of the room, like a heavy object was thrown at the door.  
-  
Evelyn’s eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times against the bright light pouring in from the window. She sat upright, yawning, feeling invigorated and happy, before noticing Loki sitting on the loveseat, just like he had when she fell asleep last night. A smile tugged at her lips at the sight of him, but it quickly disappeared when she noticed the worried look on his face.  
‘’Good morning’’ She said quietly, pulling Loki out of his state of concentration. He honestly wasn’t even reading, he just looked at the book, thinking about what to do with the situation in her room. He looked up at her, forcing a smile on his face, not wanting to give away the worry he felt, though it didn’t do much good.

‘’Good morning Evelyn. Did you sleep well?’’  
‘’I haven’t slept this well in… months, actually. Barely any nightmares’’ she said thankfully. ‘’Is something wrong? You look upset’’

Loki sighed, putting down the book next to him, carefully picking his next words, not wanting to upset Evelyn. ‘’I went into your room. I had hoped that I could repair your broken furniture so you could use it again, but..’’ He fell silent, unsure if he should tell Evelyn what happened merely an hour before she woke up. ‘’I don’t think you should sleep in that room anymore. It’s unsafe.’’ 

Evelyn’s brows furrowed, looking at Loki with a confused expression. ‘’What do you mean?’’  
‘’I found a notebook. I didn’t mean to intrude, but I opened it, and I read a few sentences before something pulled it out of my grip. When I turned to leave and closed the door behind me, something hard got thrown after me.’’ He sighed. it pained him to tell her this, especially after the peaceful night she had. ‘’it threw a large nail after me, it must’ve come off your wall or something. I don’t think it’s safe for you to go back. I sealed the door to make sure it could not do more damage.’’

Evelyn looked down at her hands, feelings her eyes starting to water. She took a shaky breath, trying to calm down, and wiped away a few tears that threatened to spill down her face. ‘’S-so uh..’’ she said, her voice cracking. ‘’I don’t have a place to stay anymore?’’  
Loki studied her sorrowful expression. He cared deeply for her, more than she would probably ever know, and it pained him to see her so distressed.  
‘’I do not mean to cross any lines, but if you would like you would be very welcome to stay here for as long as it’s needed.’’ He offered, hoping that it would cheer her up slightly. 

Evelyn nodded, wiping away another tear, looking at him gratefully. ‘’I’d like that’’, she said, exhaustion creeping into her mind once more. ‘’Is it alright if I sleep for a bit longer? I don’t feel very good.’’  
Loki nodded, standing up from the loveseat. ‘’Would you like me to get you something to eat?’’ he asked attentively, wanting to cheer her up in any way. Evelyn muttered a soft please before closing her eyes once more, not even noticing that Loki left the room.


End file.
